Nine members and visitors met on a dull and cool Easter Saturday at 10 o'clock at Sandsend Car Park. Here the leader outlined the timetable for the weekend and showed extensive examples of the fossils to be found.

The first venue was from Saltwick Bay back to Whitby on the falling tide to look at the Whitby Mudstone Formation.  Several species of ammonites, including some less common ones, belemnites, pieces of Jet and some fern fronds from the famous Whitby Plant Bed were found.  At the end of this excursion the leader was put under pressure, from the very enthusiastic group, to take them to another location — not easy 3 hours after low tide but it it was decided to visit East Kettleness.  More than half the group went down the tortuous cliff path to spend a good hour and half collecting loose ammonites off the beach.

At 9 o'clock Sunday morning we left Whitby for a trip to Ravenscar. Down the steep cliff path on the line of the Peak Fault, an astonishing fault with a vertical downthrow of approximately 150m, along the undercliff and sown into Blea Wyke.  We arrived on the beach just as the falling tide had made it possible to walk along the Alum Shale Beds, through the Peak Mudstones up into the Fox Cliff Siltstones.  Most members finding one of two of the less common ammonites i.e. Hildoceras, Grammoceras, Peronoceras, Catacoeloceras, as well as Dactylioceras commune.  Returning from the beach via the tortuous and gruelling climb with a bag full of fossils.

Monday at 9 o'clock we left Whitby for the gentle collecting area of Reighton Sands and the Speeton Clays.  David Turner's tales of exotic lobster finds (no tale, it really happened) driving the group on fire and expectation never before seen, only to have their dreams shattered when they arrived at the cliff face.  Many weeks of dry weather had seen the mud slips dry up, allowing access to all the cliff face, which had obviously been capitalized on by previous collectors. (Lets face it, the only reason David found that lobster was that it was Christmas and unlike most David wasn't drunk, full of turkey, and lounging in front of the proverbial log fire. There is a moral there!)  Black Cliff, for its entire length, has had the Upper Shrimp Bed completely and systematically collected out, to the stage that it will take several years of erosion to expose it again.  Fossils were not common but most people managed to find the belemnites Aeroteuthis and Hibolites and the oyster Exogyra and a couple of small ammonites. The only exceptional find was a fine Speeton Shrimp almost completely exposed in a nodule found in the shingle.

Not to be put off by either time or lack of finds the group pushed in a visit to the Flamborough Chalk at Danes Dyke. Here again collecting was not the easiest or most productive but some specimens of the echinoid Echinocorys, the crinoid Marsupites and sponges from the famous Flamborough Sponge Beds were found by diligent searchers.

After the final farewells the group broke up to make the homeward journey at approximately 5pm.

Although, as in most cased these days, the Yorkshire Coast did not give up her fossil treasures readily, most people left with a comprehensive collection, and some amongst us even had time for extra excursions for such things as cream teas and shopping trips. (Cream Teas in Yorkshire, whatever next?)  All of us having met in the evenings for few beers and curry of a few beers and chinese. (That's better but why not a couple of pints, cod and chips?)

All in all an excellent weekend which I would be only too happy to repeat in the future as there are still places to visit.

                                                                                                                            Derek Glover

If any member, who went on the trip, has any photographs they would like to share with us all on this website, please contact Roger

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